Bonneville Salt Flats

 


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As a young boy I was always interested in cars and started getting Hot Rod Magazine when I was 13. In the magazine there would always be articles about Craig Breedlove and his Spirit of America vehicles racing at Bonneville. Breedlove was the first person to reach 400, 500 and 600 Mph all using different turbo-jet powered vehicles and all named Spirit of America. So when we were going to be only an hours drive away in Salt lake City we had to go see this magical place. The Beach Boys song "Spirit of America" is about Breedlove and his cars.

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On the way to Bonneville was passed Saltair, another place I had to stop and see. The first Saltair, completed in 1893, was jointly owned by a corporation associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Saltair was a family place, intended to provide a safe and wholesome atmosphere with the open supervision of Church leaders. There was a train from the city to Saltair and amusement park rides at the resort. Today the building is mainly used for concerts and it is a shadow of what the original used to be.

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OK after the diversion to Saltair back on to Bonneville. As you can see from the pictures it was flooded. The world famous speed week was the week before we were there and it had to be canceled because of the rain and flooding. People come from all over the world for speed week. If you have ever seen the 2005 movie "The World's Fastest Indian" with Anthony Hopkins is was about Burt Munro from New Zealand who set the world speed record in 1967 at Bonneville. The picture to the immediate left shows the water was only ankle deep. To prepare the salt for racing they grade it then roll it to pack it flat and hard. Unlike drag racing the cars start out slow because they are geared for top speed not acceleration. I wanted to set the land speed record in my Prius, but alas, it wasn't to be. There were a lot of people stopping to look.

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